B
BugHogan
Guest
I posted this here and on crimes, but I'm not sure if it really fits either forum:
Minnesota - Kanabec County
My husband will be getting physical custody of his daughters from their mother. They are 13 and 14 years old and live with us right now, with their mother's permission, the order is filed and needs to be signed by a judge.
When he went to sign off on the stipulation for custody change with her, she informed him that there was a case pending in the county against a 14 year old boy that is accused of molesting several children, including her boyfriend's sister's 2 young boys. Apparently the police went to the girls school last school year when they lived with her, pulled them out of school and questioned them regarding what they know. They did not ask consent from either the mother or the father to question the children and no other adults were present. Both my husband and his ex wife are understandably upset, as they feel the police did not follow proper procedures and now the children are expected to be witnesses in a sexual molestation case. Our questions are:
1) Is it legal to question children without the parent(s) present or without the parent(s) permission?
2) Are the children required to testify or is it possible for them to be excused from testifying? My husband and his ex just want to protect their girls and make sure their rights aren't being violated. All they know is that sometimes when they went to the victim's (2 boys) house, the bedroom door would be locked to the young boys' room when the alleged perpetrator was there. This is, according to the victims, when the molestation was taking place.
Minnesota - Kanabec County
My husband will be getting physical custody of his daughters from their mother. They are 13 and 14 years old and live with us right now, with their mother's permission, the order is filed and needs to be signed by a judge.
When he went to sign off on the stipulation for custody change with her, she informed him that there was a case pending in the county against a 14 year old boy that is accused of molesting several children, including her boyfriend's sister's 2 young boys. Apparently the police went to the girls school last school year when they lived with her, pulled them out of school and questioned them regarding what they know. They did not ask consent from either the mother or the father to question the children and no other adults were present. Both my husband and his ex wife are understandably upset, as they feel the police did not follow proper procedures and now the children are expected to be witnesses in a sexual molestation case. Our questions are:
1) Is it legal to question children without the parent(s) present or without the parent(s) permission?
2) Are the children required to testify or is it possible for them to be excused from testifying? My husband and his ex just want to protect their girls and make sure their rights aren't being violated. All they know is that sometimes when they went to the victim's (2 boys) house, the bedroom door would be locked to the young boys' room when the alleged perpetrator was there. This is, according to the victims, when the molestation was taking place.
